The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-05-18
n FAT BLACK BOTTLE.

|
| n FAT BLACK BOTTLE.
| fiiicd to the Cork with Five Dollar Tres
ury Notes.
| There came to light in Macon yester-
day New Years story that would fifty
adorn temperance lecture.
A bright little girl gave away what
was regarded as a pleasing secret. IT
happened in this way: The Telegraph
man stumbled into millinery store YES
terday and while waiting to get the at
tcntlon of the lady who makes the female
population pretty, idly listened to con-
Vcrsatlon between n customcr-e evidently
the wltc OF mecbanic-a al tho miilin-
er Tho lady was looking ut very
pretty hat for her little girl who stood
at her side with hungry eyes. The hat
was purchased, and tho Telegraph man
mentally thought it looked like extrava-
gance for a mechanics family to throw
away four dollars and half on little
girls hat
AS this was the only purchase in which
the enid seemed Interested, she sided
up to where the Telegraph man was
standing and artlessly said: eve dot
lots cr money now" The reporter here
TO buy ticket for the last lottery draw
ing.
"Whcrc did you get it, sis?"
Papa broke tn bottlo?"
Broke the bottle?"
"Essur; tn bottle was JUS rs fuller
money us it TODD be, an we's 'ich now"
No true reporter can be idle when such
an item rs this IS in speaking distance,
and 1T was not more than few minutes
before the childs mother was per-
s'ladcd INTO telling the following story,
and yet she never dreamed that every
word of it was being jottcd down by tho
shorthand finger OF memory upon the
thumD worn page of n mental note book:
81 have passed through the ordeal of
a drunkard's wife, and | am too happy
now to go over what and how much 1
suffered. My husband drank heavily
and often half of his wages went for
drink. He kept large black bottle of
Wmskey all the time i'll the house, in
addition to what he drank in town. On
Christmas Eve night five years ago he
came homo drunk, and as something had
gone wrong with him, he was in the
worst kind Of a humor. Our oldest boy
was III the crib very sick with the fever,
and there was not n cent of money in tho
house to buy him the cheapest toy. My
husband had been away from home all
day and being drunk had forgotten all
about his Christmas. L put my husband
to bed and returned to the bed side of
my dying boy 10 watch and weep. 1t
was nearly daybrcak when | saw my
precious son sinking fast. Rushing out
OF the house L called i'll lady friend,
and then aiouscd my husband. The
sleep had somewhat sobercd him, and
as he loved his boy dcvotedly, he was
soon bending over the little fellow, beg
ging him to say something to him.
"The little fellow slowly turned his
eyes toward his father and said: Pm
going to die, papa, for l sec the angels
beckoning me to come. This is Christ
mas morning, papa; please let me see
what Santa Claus put in my stocking.
My husband went to the mantle and
took down the little stocking. 1t was
empty! He stood still and stared at it
for minute, and God only knows the
agony of his heart III that short time.
He turned to say, but our boy would
not have heard him had the poor mans
breaking heart allowed to speak. Our
boy was dead
"The day before New Years nv hus-
band called for the bottle. May God
forgive my feelings at that minute, for
wished he, too, was dead / obeyed him
mechanically. TO my surprise, he took
the bottle in his hands and, pouring the
whisky on the ground, said Il will
drink no more; and the money | would
spend for whiskey we will put in this
bottle, and all enjoy the contents You
can imagine how happy l was. He had
sworn OIL many times before, but L knew
he was in earnest this time. We made a
calculation, and estimated that whiskey
cost him, taking the past year as basis,
on al average of five dollars week
You see good deal of his money went
to pay court fines for drunkenness. Well
1t was decided to put five dollars week
III the bottle for five years, come what
would. The time was out last New
Years day, and the big black bottle was
broken. Now figure up how many five
dollars that bottle containodw
"Iwo hundred and sixty"
eyes, or 81, 900 dollars. But this was
not all. We saved enough in that time
outside of the bottle to buy little
home"
''But are you not afraid in breaking
the bottle your husband will break his
rcsolution?"
"No; because we have started another
bottle bank, said the lady with happy
smile.
The husband is Macon mechanic,
well know and enjoys the respect and
esteem of all. He says he never knew
how much genuine pleasure there was al
home with his loved ones until he got
sober enough to appreciate it, and to fill
instead Of empty the fat black bottle.
"OVeT and Over Again"
Repetition is sometimes the only way tc